Beaches, Booze and Falling
by WhoGivesaFck
Summary: AU PDLD. Back home in Australia for Spring Break Finn meets a blue eyed girl. The girl hates everything he represents but she intrigues him.
1. Prologue

Beaches, Booze and Falling

Prologue

_It haunted him. He wasn't sure how or why but it did. He had tried to destroy it many times but somehow whenever his long, agile fingers went to tear it into pieces he couldn't do it. It was all he had left of those few days. Ten days to be exact. It was a simple five by seven photograph. In the picture sat a young man with a young woman. The man was himself and he was staring completely enamoured with the blue-eyed beauty that sat beside him. They hadn't been aware that a photo was being taken so they weren't even looking at the camera. She had been teasing him and he remembered trying to act insulted. It didn't work. It never did. The photo had captured her brilliant eyes. They were filled with mirth. He didn't know whether it was only a trick of the sun but her eyes seemed to sparkle._

_That photograph and all it represented was going to be the death of him. It had already caused him to get into trouble multiple times._

_The trouble had started about a month after the photo was taken. He had just received it in the mail, actually. He had gotten a DUI that night. His friends tried to stop him from getting into the car but to no avail. He had, apparently, gotten violent leaving one of his friends with a broken nose. He had gotten into the car a peeled out of the parking lot. He was arrested not ten minutes later._

_Up until the day following his arrest he hadn't told his friends about her. When he did it had been unintentionally and he hadn't given it all away. Stephanie had been the one of his friends who asked. She had tentatively sat next to him, and rubbed his shoulder with her hand but he shrugged her off._

"_What?" he remembered demanding harshly. She didn't even flinch. It seemed like she had been expecting him to lash out._

_She grabbed his hand gently. "Who is she?" She asked so softly and caringly that she had reminded him of her._

_He yanked his hand away and stood up. He was angry again and he didn't know why. "Who is she? 'Who is she,' you ask? I don't know! I don't. She was supposed to be just some girl! She is just some girl. She's nobody special. She can't be!" He was waving his hands in the air trying to emphasize his point. He looked around at his other friends who were standing quietly in the background worried about him. "I'd appreciate it if everyone would just piss off!" Moments later the whole room shook as he slammed his bedroom door closed._

_Hours later Stephanie had crept into his room and crawled onto the bed; she laid down beside him. In his hands he held the photograph._

"_She's beautiful," Stephanie had commented. He nodded his head, absentmindedly agreeing with her. "What's her name?"_

_He shook his head. "It doesn't matter anymore." He rolled over terminating the conversation. Seconds later he heard his bedroom door open and close softly._

_They had, then, taken it too sea. On the yacht he had been anything but happy. He knew what that meant. Stephanie was a psychology major. He had overheard her talking with his other friends about it too. He was displaying all the signs of depression. He was in a state of irritable mood, he rarely ate or slept, his sex drive had increased tenfold, he was out of control and his judgement was always impaired. He had also increased his alcohol intake. The few nights he didn't pass out before he went to bed he was unable to sleep. His mind was racing. There were so many thoughts bouncing off the inside of his head and everything was so jumbled he wasn't even able to understand it. So he drank until he passed out then woke up and drank some more. When he wasn't drinking he was studying the anatomy of different females._

_They had sailed around the world in hopes of raising his spirits. It had worked, for the most part anyway. That is until they reached Australia, his homeland. It was near the end of the trip. After that they were heading back to school. Within hours of being back in Australia, he had seen too many places that had memories, memories of her. That night when they had gotten back on the yacht and when everyone was asleep and him drunk he had made his way to the controls._

_He still wasn't sure what possessed him to actually do it but all he knew was he needed to get as far away from Australia as humanly possible. The keys happened to be in the ignition still, he was sure it was an accident but he thanked the Gods all the same. He had taken another swig from the bottle of alcohol that had been in his hand at the time. He turned on the controls and the boat sprang into life._

_Instead of keeping the boat at a steady pace he accelerated and sailed at maximum velocity. All throughout the night he sailed with the alcohol swimming through his veins, drowning him. When his friends woke up during the night they all rushed to get him away from the controls. They had been near Fiji at this time. This had been not one of their best ideas as, as they attempted to pull him away the wheel turned and with it the boat. Unfortunately, in front of them lay a smaller boat. Needless to say the outcome hadn't been good._

_He glared, now, at the picture. He cursed and condemned it for all the trouble it had caused him._

"_Finn!" he heard his friend, Colin, called from the other room._

_His head shot up and he looked around guiltily as though Colin could see that he was looking once again at the photograph. He hastily opened a drawer and shoved the picture in it._

"_What?" he called back satisfied that now since the picture was out of sight it was also out of mind._

"_We're going to the pub, you coming?"_

"_Yeah, just a minute!"_

_He looked around his room. It was a complete mess. It was the day before classes resumed at Yale and he wasn't finished unpacking yet. His suitcase was open on his bed and the room was full of unopened boxes. He had been unpacking when he found the picture then his mind drifted. He looked around one more time before turning around and walking into the common room where his two best friends, Logan and Colin were waiting._

"_You okay?" Logan asked looking at him with concern._

"_Fine."_

_They left the dorm room and headed outside. The pub was only a few minutes away by foot so they never bothered to take a car. They also never had to worry about designated drivers._

_The school looked no different than the last time he was here which was over a year ago. It was the same type of people: either over achievers or over privileged. He saw a few freshmen walk by with their arms full of textbooks. There were some sophomores and junior and seniors about too but they were less up tight. They were walking around with a cup of coffee greeting old friends._

_He was glad there was something he could always count on; that some things never change._

_After Fiji, Finn had vowed not to let her bother him anymore. He had promised him self that he was going to get over what it was that he wasn't over yet._

"_Hey boys!" Finn looked over and saw that Stephanie had joined them._

_She was a very pretty blonde girl. He had known her for years. They—Finn, Colin, Logan and Stephanie—had all gone to the same boarding school and had been friends ever since._

"_Hello love," he greeted her with a small smile._

_She smiled brightly and sidled up next to Colin as they continued to walk. He hear her whisper quietly to Colin, "how's our boy doing?"_

_Colin sighed softly. "He's better, I guess. Well better than at Fiji."_

_Finn resented that. He had apologized profusely for sinking the yacht during his drunken rage. They were never going to let him forget that. It had been nearly two months since Fiji and they still felt compelled to remind him almost daily. On the other hand though, Finn was doing much better since he left Australia. The distance had helped. The further he was from Australia the better, at least for now._

"_Hey watch it!" Colin said suddenly. He seemed outraged._

_Finn looked around to see what was going on. From what he could gather in a glance was some seemingly familiar curly black haired male had bumped into Colin._

"_Sorry," the man muttered and continued walking. He was with a girl, he couldn't see her face but she was talking animatedly._

_Finn shrugged and turned away._

"_No, seriously, you couldn't see me there?" Colin said._

"_Not everyone is staring at you, Colin," Finn quipped. He stopped walking and turned to see Colin make an ass out of himself._

_The curly haired man had his eyes narrowed. The girl beside him had her head down and was shaking her head._

"_Hey, I know you. No, wait, wait, don't tell me. I'm seeing a uniform of some sort," Logan added, he scrutinized the man._

"_Maytag repairman?" Finn muttered sarcastically, not very interested in the whole ordeal._

"_I bartend for you—your parties, I mean," the man said._

_Finn remembered then, the man made kick ass margaritas._

"_Can you get out of our way now?" Colin asked pointedly. His tone was haughty._

_He started walking towards the pub again until he heard the girl speak._

"_Hey!" she began, "who do you think you are? You can't talk to people like that?"_

_Finn's ears picked up. He didn't dare turn around. He couldn't, wouldn't not until he could prove to himself it wasn't her. He didn't think he could handle getting his hopes up only to be let down._

"_Like what?" Colin asked, clearly not seeing the girls point._

"_Like they are below you!" she exclaimed. "Besides he apologized."_

_Colin was silent. The girl was right there had been an apology. There was no reason to be angry. It had been an accident. But Finn knew Colin. Colin was uptight and snobby to people he didn't know._

_After a pause during which Finn refused to turn around Colin replied in a superior tone, "but how could he not have seen me? I was right there."_

"_Hey—" the man started to say but was cut off by the angry girl._

"_Not everyone is looking at you. This may come as a surprise to you," she said, "but the world doesn't exist just because you do."_

_True words, Finn thought, smirking inwardly._

_Finn glanced at Stephanie. Her mouth was open and she kept sending fleeting looks between Finn and the scene. It had to be her. He whipped around. He was rewarded when he looked into the pools of ocean blue that were her eyes._

"_Rory," he said. She looked over to him. His face showed astonishment and his mind seemed to be working overtime as the memories flooded in.

* * *

Author's note: Okay, I know I have three other stories going and I know they are all Gilmore Girls but I had this in my head. It just wouldn't go away._

Now, I know it sounds a little morbid but I promis this will be the only chapter like this. The others will be...lighter.

Review, please!


	2. Chapter 1

Beaches, Booze and Falling

Chapter One

Dawn was just breaking in crimson and blue, the birds were chirping a happy 'good morning' tune both of which usually called for Finn to hide deeper in his blankets and slam his pillow over his head. Yet Finn was uncharacteristically and willingly awake at an hour he usually termed to be 'ungodly.' Although, to Finn any time before four in the afternoon was 'ungodly.' He could have claimed he was jetlagged from the flight the day before but he knew that wasn't true. The waves had been calling to him whispering his name and the warm sand was crying to be between his toes. It was almost like a slow, powerful seduction; so tempting and dangerous.

The tips of his fingers lightly grazed the underside of the wave as he glided across the surface of the ocean. Finn retracted his hand and shifted his body weight forward on the surfboard causing the direction to change. He turned into the wave the front of the board cut through the water creating space for him to pass.

He smiled, satisfied, to himself as he completely a trick he hadn't performed in a little less than a year. He hadn't been privy to such a vitalizing and fortifying experience since August, before he left Australia to go back to school in America. For now though, it would be a ritual like shampooing; lather, rinse, repeat. But maybe those words were too bland a choice. Surfing was exhilarating and stimulating yet most of all Finn felt it was freeing. He was able to let go of his inhibitions—not that there were many to begin with. He threw both his arms up in triumph then scrupulously lowered himself until he was lying flat on the board.

He was now no longer "in the zone" as his friends called it when he was surfing he never heard anything but the waves. Now, though, he was acutely aware of noises that had not been there before. He heard the calling of his name from afar so he looked toward the shore. It seemed like a dream for standing there were his childhood friends, beckoning him towards them. His face split into a gleeful grin as he started for what he was sure was a mirage.

"Finn! I didn't know you were coming home for break, mate!" a tall male vociferated as he stepped towards Finn as he came ashore. He looked much like Finn except for his eyes, which were blue while Finn's were green.

Finn chuckled. "Neither did I, actually," he said vaguely.

"Dad's going to kill you if you're in shit again," he said.

Finn had always been the rebel in the family, the defiant one. As the second born son—first being James, Finn's "look alike"—he was given more independence. Independence being a nice way to put that he was ignored and less loved by his father since he wasn't _needed_, he wasn't the heir. As kids they were pretty much treated as equals but as they entered their teens James was presented as the poster child of the family and Finn was pushed aside.

During his "rebellion" Finn had been shipped off to boarding school to redeem himself and he had only come home once or twice a year since then which was nearly seven years now. Behind his older brother stood a group of people from his past from before his life went down hill.

"Finn, you remember everyone, I'm sure," James said motioning to those who stood behind him.

His face broke into a charming smile. "How could I forget?" He approached the group. "Did you all miss me?"

"Oh, honey," a small, dark featured girl by the name of Talia Hurley, cooed, "of course we didn't."

"Nice seeing you too, love," Finn retorted sardonically.

No one, not one of the few there, replied to Finn's comment. And he knew why. After he was sent away for his misbehaviour he didn't keep in touch. Not a quick phone call on his way to class or even a postcard. When he was sent across the world, away from everyone he knew to attend a school he didn't want to attend Finn had been beyond furious. To him it felt like he had been dropped off at the kennel for humans only to be called upon when needed. He missed everything about home, even his father believe it or not. After his first few visits home—whenever he got expelled from a school he would go home for a few days until they found a new school—he realized he needed to stay far away. The longer he was away from home, the less pain he felt. By keeping in touch with his friends he would have created a want, a longing to be back home. A longing he felt he was better off without.

"Look," Finn said, "I know I'm an asshole…" He went on to explain why he never called.

"You've always had strange logic," Jarrah Hurley, Talia's twin brother commented.

"I resent that! My logic isn't strange, it's unique!"

"Same difference!" Talia interjected laughing.

"Hey," Finn said looking behind the twins to a blond haired blue-eyed boy. He was tanned and built. He held a surfboard under his arm.

"You didn't suck too bad out there," Ryan Templeton said in greeting, nodding towards the ocean.

Finn shook his head smiling. "Well we all can't be as talented as you."

Ryan had been in surfing competitions since he was little. From what Finn had read in newspapers, he was now being sponsored by Billabong or some other major sporting brand, which he wasn't quite sure.

There were only a few other people on the beach other than them. A while down there was a group of giggling girls ogling the men surfing and a brunette girl sitting crossed legged in the sand reading a book and sipping on a Styrofoam cup.

"Finn!"

He was barely able to register blonde hair in a female form before he was knocked backwards. One of the giggling girls had just jumped into his arms.

He dropped her and took a few steps backwards. He was completely bewildered.

"Oh, Finn," she said with a pout, "don't you remember me?" She flipped her hair flirtaciously. She was clad only in a skimpy bikini that left nothing to the imagination.

He cleared his throat. "Of course I do," said Finn uncomfortably. "Uh—"

"Sabrina," she supplied helpfully. "I can't believe you don't remember, Finny."

"I do, I remember," he insisted. "The last time I came home, right?"

She smiled, "you do remember!"

Someone snorted from behind. He didn't need to turn around to know it was Jarrah. He shot his friend a glare to which Jarrah returned a grin.

"You really know how to pick them, don't you Finn?" Talia muttered in an undertone as she tried to hide her smile. The girl, Sabrina was draped around Finn's neck and was sending her a death glare.

"Finny," Sabrina grinned wickedly. "Why don't you and I go back to your place and I can…refresh your memory?" She pulled herself up to his level and brought his face down to hers.

When they pulled apart Finn said, "I would love to continue this, _darling_, but my friends are waiting for me, doll."

She pouted her sultry lips again drawing his eyes to them. "I'll catch up with you later then."

"We most definitely will," Finn assured her.

She kissed him again before rejoining her tittering friends.

He turned to rejoin his friends but was stopped by an incredible sight. The brunette girl was wiping sand from her legs as she stood to leave. Her legs seemed to go on for miles. She was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a t-shirt featuring the band _The Clash_. He outfit certainly did not scream native. She was a tourist, he was sure. Probably American.

The girl turned sensing his eyes on her. He flashed her a grin. She raised her eyebrow.

"Would you like me to turn?" she asked. "Curtsey maybe?"

He heard laughing from his friends. She was sharp that was for sure.

"The view of the front is perfect, thanks for the offer though, love," he retorted.

She rolled her blue eyes; her deep ocean blue eyes. She turned and began to walk away. Most girls would have taken that as a compliment.

Finn followed her. "You don't like me." It wasn't a question.

"I don't know you," came her response.

"Well then allow me to introduce myself," Finn said smiling a million watt smile.

"No," she said and flashed a sinful smile of her own. She picked up her pace.

He jogged to catch up. "Why not?"

She stopped walking. "Are you five?" she demanded.

"Seven actually."

She rolled her pretty blue eyes again before once again turning heel and leaving.

"Hey wait!" He jogged after her. "Why don't you want to know me?"

"Manor born," was her puzzling response. This time when she left he let her. He didn't understand what she meant but he was going to find out.

* * *

Author's note: It seems short, doesn't it? Oh well, I tried.

Okay, so I need a little help deciding something.

The question:

Why is Rory in Australia?

Possible answers:

A. She is with her grandfather on a business venture.

B. Chilton school trip.

C. With her father on vacation.

Review!


	3. Chapter 2

Beaches, Booze and Falling

Chapter Two

He had been surprised to say the least when she walked through the doors of the pub with a young man he didn't know and took a seat at a table next to the window. That had been twenty minutes ago and he still hadn't taken his eyes off her. She hadn't noticed him watching and she wouldn't either. He was sitting in the center of his group of friends slouched down low in his chair as his friends shrieked with laughter and merriment. He scowled at the thought.

All day the feeling of guilt in the pit of his stomach seemed to grow. He felt sick to his stomach every time he had to ask "what?" or "when did that happen?" He barely knew whom his friends were anymore, hell, he didn't even know who his own brother was anymore. That caused the most guilt. Growing up he and his brother had been closer than close and now he didn't know what to say to him.

Lunch with his parents had been even worse if that was possible. No words had been spoken. But their silence had been worse than any words could have been. He knew though, once the anger had sunk into his father and he had contemplated it there would be words. Words Finn didn't want to hear but he knew they were inevitable. The lecture would start with, "Phineas, your mother and I are very disappointed..." and end with "If this happens one more time I will personally bring you home from America and put you to work at the firm." It is how things always seemed to go and he was sure they always would. No matter how bad Finn screwed up his father would never do anything to him that would ruin society's view on him. The Rothschild's were the epitome of grace and grandeur. Darren Rothschild would never want his image of perfect father to be diminished no matter how mad he was at his son.

His gaze was still locked on the brunette girl. Her eyes lit up as she listened attentively to the man sitting across from her. A smile was gracing her lips; it was nothing like the smile she had given him at the beach. This smile was one of happiness. Where as the one he had sent his way had been full of disgust.

He could still hear her words floating through his mind every few minutes. She had said she didn't want to know who he was because: _manor born?_ How did that make any sense? To Finn it didn't. He had tried to come up with some coherent explanation to her words but he couldn't make hide or hare of it.

"Give it up, mate."

Finn flicked his stare towards Jarrah before he turned back to look at the girl. "Give what up?"

"You've been staring at her since she walked in ... with another man. Give it up," he said. "You have no chance."

"I haven't been staring at her," Finn all but growled out.

Jarrah snorted.

"I've been ... observing her," he finished lamely. He knew his explanation sounded ridiculous even, to his own ears.

"Right."

"Shut up," Finn hissed as he chanced a glare at his friend.

The girl wasn't smiling anymore. He noticed that the moment his gaze returned to her table. Her delicate hand was cradling her head as she stared glumly up at the man. This small fact caused Finn to sit up straight in his seat knocking his beer over. He didn't care though.

"Whoa, Finn, mate, what's up?" Ryan asked hurrying to pick up the over turned beer bottle.

Finn didn't answer him. He just continued to watch the scene unfold before him.

The man hung up his cell phone that he had been talking on and said a few words to the girls that Finn couldn't hear.

"You always do this!" the girl hissed across the table. "You said this trip was so you could prove you weren't the flake you always turned out to be in the past. You are just proving my hypothesis right once again!"

"I'm sorry, Hun, but this is important," the man said.

"I can't believe you are conducting business on our vacation!" the girl berated the man.

The man had stood up, he handed the brunette a few bills, kissed the top of her head and walked out of the pub pulling out his cell phone as he did so. He held an apologetic look on his face but Finn could tell this wasn't the first time the man had disappointed the blue-eyed goddess, nor would it be the last. At that moment Finn felt an eternal hatred for the man as he saw the girls face contort into one of discouragement mixed with anger.

"Isn't that the girl from the beach?" Talia wondered aloud.

James smiled, "yeah, you know, the girl who turned you down?"

"Yes, James, her. Thank you for your commentary. It was much appreciated," Finn said dryly as he kept his eyes on the girl.

"Aw, Finn's in love," Talia said in a singsong voice.

It took Finn all but ten seconds to make his plan. He stood from his table and strode across the room. "Hello love," he said cheerfully as he took the seat the man had occupied moments before. He ignored the jeers his friends were sending silently his way and kept his gaze focused intently on the girl.

"I'm not your love," she said rolling her eyes.

Finn eyes narrowed. "So was he your love, your one and only? Your bloke?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked sounding sincerely confused.

"You know," Finn said impatiently, "that man you were with. The one that left not five minutes ago? Have you forgotten already—what is so funny?"

"That _bloke _was my dad," she said through her laughter so it was barely distinguishable.

"Your father?" Finn said slowly. "Your father." He smiled brilliantly. "That man was your father!"

"Yes, yes he was?" she said uncertainly. "Was there something you wanted?"

"Now that you mention it, your name darling." He grabbed her dainty hand in his larger rough one and cradled it delicately.

She yanked her hand back. "How about no."

His eyebrows furrowed together. "Why not?"

"Like I said this morning. Manor born."

"What does that mean?"

She sighed and blew a stray hair away from her face before speaking. "Look, I know people like you. I go to school with people like you, actually. You are all the same. No depth. you are all the same. You are given everything and you take it all for granted. You walk around thinking the world exists just for you. Your idea of a relaxing night is a wild party that will lead to you stumbling home with a girl whose name you don't even know. You will treat her like she's the only woman in the universe then forget all about her but lunchtime the next day. I don't like people like you. You represent everything I despise in a person. you are shallow, cold and don't have a care in the world.

"I'm not like that." But he knew she could tell he was lying.

"This morning did a trashy girl not walk right up to you and inquire about a night you two spent together which you didn't even remember? Truthfully tell me that did not happen and I'll give you my name," she offered.

Finn stayed silent. She was right and she knew it. He scowled.

She looked at him with what seemed to be an almost apologetic expression. "I have to go."

He blinked and he missed it. She was gone that fast. Was he really as repulsive as she seemed to think? Was her description of him really that real? Was that how he appeared to others?

"What happened? She shut you down again?" Jarrah teased as he took her vacant spot. "What did she do?"

He looked at the door, which the nameless girl had exited through. "A reality check."


	4. Chapter 3

Beaches, Booze and Falling  
Chapter Three

He fidgeted. The silence that engulfed the room was enough to make anyone uncomfortable unfortunately Finn knew that this was the calm before the storm. His parents had now had ample time to brood over Finn's homecoming. Soon the winds would attack at full force howling and knocking people's hats off; cold, hard rain would commence drowning him.

The waiting game had begun. They sat there prim and proper. His mother, legs delicately cross and her elegant hands folded gently in her lap. If you were anyone but Finn or James you would think she was simply sitting down to tea. Finn knew better. His father sat with perfect posture in an armchair, his hands were clasped casually before him. Waiting.

He had only just returned from the pub when the maid had informed him in a small fearful voice that, "your mother and father wish for you to join them in the sitting room, Master Phineas." As he rounded the corner into the sitting room his parents had indeed been sitting there. Calmly, Finn took a seat opposite them and waiting. Thus the game began.

From his father's office he heard the chime of the antique grandfather clock strike nine. He gave a slight shiver. When he was younger the ticking of that clock had been comforting. He had grown up in a house that whether it was empty or not was always buried under layers of silence. The only thing that ever broke the silence had been his father reprimanding him or the bong of the clock striking hour after hour. Even though his bedroom was on the opposite side of the mansion from the clock and on a different level he was still able to hear it at night. He could hear it so clearly that he would go as far as to claim the ticking of the clock had lulled him to sleep countless times. However, now, the chiming of the clock meant something not so calming. It was no longer soothing. The old grandfather clock was now a time bomb, ticking away the hours, minutes and seconds before the storm would break.

He eyes glanced around the room. It was decorated warmly with beautiful dark wood floors, comfortable yet elegant couches and intriguing paintings adorning the walls. The fireplace set in the middle of the primary wall was not lit. Finn couldn't remember a time when it had been lit. Not at Christmas or when it got cold at night.

"Phineas, dear," his mother, Eleanor, said evenly yet Finn could feel the disappointment radiating from her. She wouldn't scream or raise her voice. She never did. Somehow this was what made Finn feel the worst. It wouldn't be his father's angry words but his mother's disappointment in him that crushed him. "As I'm sure you know, dear, we received a call from Mitchum Huntzberger just last week. He claims his son; you and Colin were arrested again. Is this true?"

Finn nodded. It was true and his mother was right to insinuate that he had been arrested with his friends before. They had been, many times, in fact. Finn wasn't sure whether his mother knew how many other times he had been arrested with Logan and Colin and he hoped she never did. The disappointment his mother would feel from that revelation was not something Finn was eager to witness.

"Correct me if I am wrong Phineas," She continued, "but I seem to recall you saying that you would try to be better. Am I wrong?"  
"No," Finn muttered not daring to look her in the eye.

"Speak up dear, I don't understand when you mumble like that."

He took the time to clear his voice before speaking. "I said you weren't wrong."

Eleanor nodded. "That is what I thought you said. I want you to know, dear, that I am not pleased with your actions."

"I know."

She looked at him expectantly. Her green eyes, so much like his own, gazed into him. "I see."

A realization dawned on him at that moment as he looked into her eyes. It was easier to act out and do incredibly stupid and illegal things when he was on the other side of the world. When he was in America he didn't have to see the displeasure in his mother's otherwise sweet face. "I'm sorry."

"I know you are, Phineas."

Finn moved to open his mouth to say what he wasn't sure but his attempt was blocked by his father's raised hand. He quickly shut his mouth.

Darren rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Did I not say, Phineas, that if you kept up this intolerable behaviour I would bring you back home?"

Finn nodded. His father told him that every time he got in trouble.

"I let you go off to school in America because that was what you wanted. You seemed to enjoy the company of the friends you met at boarding school, you seemed happy so I let you go. I realize now that that may have been a mistake on my part."

Finn sat up straighter. What was his father saying? These conversations had never gone this way before. Where was the usual yelling? The objects being thrown?

"I have been thinking, since the phone call from Mitchum, that you should come home," Darren revealed. "I want you to finish your education at a college here in Australia. It seems that you need watching over.

"When this delinquent behaviour of yours started I thought it was just your new found freedom. You wanted to see how far you could bend the rules how far you go before you got into any serious trouble. I let most of them go too. Now, however, I think you have reached the limit. I want you home."

He couldn't breathe. His lungs seemed to have temporarily seized up. This couldn't be happening. There were so many things wrong with this scenario that he couldn't get his bearings.

"But--" he spluttered out. "You can't!"

Darren's eyes narrowed. "I very well can, son."

"But Dad," Finn said, "it was just a stupid prank! We didn't think it was all that bad. Honestly, it was just a prank!"

"Be that as it may, I think you should come home from the remainder of your education. Your mother agrees with me," Darren said calmly. Finn looked quickly to his mother for confirmation, which came in the form of a nod.

"You will finish up your semester at Yale and in the fall you will enrol at a school here," his father explained in a tone of finality.

"There's no real point in pulling me from Yale, Dad," Finn said desperately. "I only have a year left. One year before I graduate. My grades are reasonable, its not like I am failing anything!"

"Phineas is right, Darren, he is doing quite well in his studies."

"He is behaving in a manner that is not acceptable from a Rothschild, Eleanor," Darren snapped. "My decision is final."

"You can't pull me from school!" Finn exclaimed as though he just realized the seriousness of what his father was trying to do.

"Yes, I can Phineas," he hissed. "You will attend a university here. Somewhere close to home so I can keep an eye on you I don't want you straying too far from the right path."

"_So you can keep an eye on me!"_ Finn yelled. "What, so all of a sudden you care about my well being. Bull shit Dad you have never cared. You care about what other people think of you not about me. It has never been about me! Never, not once. It has always been about you, you, _you!"  
_Storming from the room, Finn blinked back the tears that he hadn't even notice come. He grabbed his keys and ignored the stunned form of his brother as he made his way out to his car.

He stopped only once on the way to his destination and that was at the first liquor store he passed. He was sure the clerk had thought he was mad or already drunk from the state of him. His eyes were blood shot and his entire body was shaking with suppressed rage. He was quite the sight.

When he arrived at the beach he felt himself calm slightly. The beach relaxed him. Whether it was the sound of the waves crashing against the shore or the vastness, the open space letting him feel free. It was probably a bit of both that helped him breathe more freely than he did when he stuck in the suffocating stone mansion he called home.

He sat down in the middle of the beach, twisted the cap off the bottle of amber liquid with his trembling fingers. He wasn't sure what he had bought. He had taken the first bottle his hand had come into contact with. He just hoped it wasn't cheap wine or champagne. He took a hearty swig; wincing and the liquid burned his throat on the way down.

In a few more generous mouthfuls the angry lion within him roared with raged. How dare his father think he could take him from school? How dare he even say he wanted to watch over his son? He wasn't his son he was a pawn.

Standing, now, on unstable legs Finn grabbed a handful of sand and threw the grains as hard as he could. "_HOW DARE YOU CALL YOURSELF MY FATHER? You're not my father! I hate you_!"

He had tears streaming down his face again. He raised the bottle to his lips again only stopping when a voice said, "I think you've had enough."  
How much of his rant she had seen he didn't know but she was there. Standing directly beside him with her small hand on his gently manoeuvring the bottle away from his mouth. Surprisingly he let her. She pried it from his tense fingers and capped it before setting it down on the sand.

"What are you doing here?" he whispered, his voice hoarse from screaming.

"Apparently I'm not the only one who needed to get away from their father tonight," she said giving a small laugh. It made the corner of his lips tug up.

"Do you want to talk about it," she asked tentatively.

He scoffed. "What do you care? You hate me, remember?"

She shook her head. "I don't hate you, I told you that. I don't know you."

"And you don't care to, so why bother trying to make sure I'm okay?" he asked bitterly.

"Well, excuse me for not wanting you to get so drunk that you would walk right into the ocean," she sounded affronted.

His eyes travelled from the ocean to her eyes. He decided at that moment that the ocean wasn't even nearly as blue as her eyes. His anger seemed to melt away from the concerned yet miffed look that was displayed across her soft features. "I'm sorry."

"My name is Rory," she said holding out her hand to him.

_My new favourite name,_ he thought to himself. "I'm Finn."

"Its nice to meet you," she said smiling an amused smile.

He grinned. "Likewise."

They stood in silence for a long while. It was nothing like the silences back home this one was comforting. It may have been her presence but he wasn't sure. He frowned as he tried to figure it out.

"Do you want to talk about it now?" she asked misinterpreting his expression.

"What?" he asked. "Oh, my father? It was just a fight."

Surprisingly she laughed. "If I have learned anything from my mom, even my father, it's that a fight with your parents is never just a fight, Finn."  
Finn turned to look at her with a confused expression gracing his features.

"You see, parents usually take what their children tell them more personally than anything else but refuse to admit it, does that make sense?"

"None."

She laughed and shrugged, "I tried."

That made him laugh. "Thank you."

"But I didn't do anything," she told him.

"I'm not screaming at the top of my lungs anymore am I?"

"Well, no," she admitted slowly.

"I've been getting into trouble, not that that is unusual, but my father is now trying to play the parent card. He wants me to enrol at a university closer to home so he can watch my every move and scare me into obedience," Finn said.

"Well, that sucks," she said giving a small pout.

"It does. I like my school."

"Talk to him."

"Talk to my father?" Finn asked. "Rory, I may have only just met you but I do believe you are mad, love."

"Thank you," she smiled.

He laughed. "Now, I know you are mad."

She just shrugged and sent him another smile.

"It's late, Rory," Finn said. "Your father will be wondering where you are."

She nodded. "I suppose he will be."

They slowly wondered towards the road and his car when she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her eyes were wide.

"You are not driving!" she cried.

He looked from the keys in his hands to his car. "Why not?"

"You drank half a bottle of scotch. Lets call you a cab and you can pick up your car in the morning," she said.

She pulled out a cell phone and moments later she hung up. She stayed next to him until a cab pulled up in front of them.

"Good bye Finn, it was nice to meet you after all."

He smiled. "You too, love."

He started to climb into the taxi and she started to walk away.

"Wait!" he called. "Can I see you again?"

Rory turned and said, "Who knows," as she gave a small shrug before she continued on her way.

-

_A/N: Surprise! I still can't believe I had time to write this chapter. Then again, when i wrote it I was supposed to be studying for my math exam._


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: Uh...hi?

-

Beaches, Booze and Falling

Chapter Four

He still wasn't sure what had possessed him to go there or even if 'there' was the right place to be but in true Finn fashion he was there anyway. Before his rebellious teenage years his life had been scheduled down to every minute detail hence his adopted decree of spontaneity. He got his thrills not knowing what life was going to throw his way; he didn't think about the consequences of his actions he just acted.

Now, here he was in another one of his sprees. He had woken up with a strange feeling; he needed to be somewhere, with someone. He had attempted to shrug the feeling off; he tried to label it as a hangover symptom. But he knew the truth.

He was leaning rather conspicuously against the wall of a large hotel lobby. He had both of his eyes trained on the shiny metal of the elevator doors directly in front of him. He neither noticed, nor did he care about the enquiring looks he was receiving from the hotel residents.

Every time the doors clanged open his breathing would catch. He was nervous. He didn't do nervous well. He wasn't sure how this would go, if it would go at all.

He was so focused on the lifts that when a voice next to him began to speak he visibly jumped.

"Excuse me, sir," the man repeated when Finn had regained his composure. "Are you a resident of this hotel, sir?"

"I don't see how that is any of your business," he raised his chin defiantly.

The man before him smirked. "I run this hotel, sir."

"Do you?" Finn inquired with a sarcastic edge. He looked around the room. "You're doing a fine job, mate."

The man ignored Finn's remark. "If you are not staying at this hotel, sir, I am going to have to ask you to leave."

"I'm waiting for someone," Finn explained as he waved a hand toward the elevators for emphasis.

"You'll have to wait outside, sir."

"I don't see why," Finn said. "I am not making a ruckus, am I sir?"

"No, sir, you are not," the man agreed.

"Have I threatened anyone?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"Am I creating an unsafe environment?" Finn asked.

"Well, no you aren't."

"Well then, would you care to explain why you are asking me to leave?"

The man was looking uncomfortable by this point. He visibly swallowed. "A few of our clients are feeling unnerved by your presence, sir."

"Unnerved by my presence," Finn repeated. "Do send them my apologies."

With that said Finn resumed his previous position leaning against the wall his eyes fixed on the elevator doors again.

Unfortunately as Finn's attention was otherwise occupied he didn't realize how serious the man was about extricating him from the building that is until he felt to pairs of hands grip both his arms. The man had obviously called security to remove him.

"You need to leave now, sir."

Finn looked at the two men who had a hold on him before he turned to look at the man again. "Is this necessary?" he asked.

The man sighed. "I had been hoping it wouldn't have been. I asked you to leave on your own will several time and you failed to comply."

Finn stared in disbelief. "I don't believe this," he all but growled. "Tell these –" he glanced angrily toward the two security guards "– gorillas to unhand me!"

"Sir," the man said. "I'm going to ask you to lower your voice. You are disturbing the guests."

"I will not! I have done nothing wrong!" his voice was low.

The man shook his head. "If you do not lower your voice I will be forced to take further measures to remove you."

Finn knew what that meant – the police. He had had his share of run in with them and on several different continents. The conversation with his parents from the night before rang through his head. The man could be all talk but he couldn't risk being brought home. He needed to stay clean.

He nodded. "Alright," he said. "I'll leave."

He jerked his arms out of the security guards hands sent a withering glare toward the hotel manager and stalked toward the exit.

He hadn't been back out into the heat of Australia for more than a few seconds before he heard a newly familiar laugh. He turned around in time to see tears start to flow from Rory's eyes as she collapsed on the floor in hysterics.

"It is not funny."

Through giggles Rory managed to say, "I heard Ebert and Roper gave that performance 'two thumbs up!' You should start charging admission!"

"You're funny, Rory, really, real witty."

"I try," Rory said wiping her eyes from the tears as she composed herself.

Finn had let a small smile grace his face as he watched her even though he would never admit that the situation had indeed been on the humorous side.

He decided he liked her laugh. It was free.

"Well, thank you for my morning comedy fest," she said as she started to walk. "I'll see you."

Finn stood still a minute.

"Wait!"

-

"Where are we going?" Finn asked as they walked side by side down the street.

She didn't answer instead she made a right and continued her way. He noticed she held a book in her hand. He also noticed that it wasn't the same one that she had been reading the morning before.

She stopped in front of a small café called Zoë's. "Do you want anything?" she asked cocking her head toward the large window.

He shook his head.

He watched as she walked into the café and up to the counter. She paid for two coffees, which confused Finn, as there was no else but the two of them.

He didn't say anything though when she returned he just followed her as she made her way back the way they had come. They didn't stop at the hotel like Finn guessed they would instead they travelled in silence all the way to the beach.

When Finn saw where they were headed he felt like he should have known this was the final destination. He was obvious. It was about the same hour as it had been the day before when he had seen her sitting on the beach a book in one hand and a coffee in the other. She even chose a spot to sit that was in relatively the same area as before.

She opened her book and slowly brought the coffee to her mouth. She seemed to inhale deeply before she finally let the liquid flow into her mouth. When she removed the cup her tongue darted out to gather every last drop. Finn's mouth went dry. He decided right then and there that he had never seen anything so sexy.

He laid back in the sand, and continued to stare at the girl beside him. He knew she was something special and he wanted to know why that was.

-

Finn didn't know how long he lay there. All he knew was that her two coffees had been finished and she was already well into her book. She had unbelievable concentration, he had noticed. The beach, by this time, was filled with people. Each and every one of the beach-goers were screaming, laughing and talking. Her eyes never lifted from the page in front of her.

"Finn?" Rory said closing her book.

"Yes, love?"

"Who were you waiting for at the hotel this morning?"

He knew she already knew the answer but he humoured her anyway. "You."

A frown crossed her face. "Why?"

He didn't know what to tell her. Was he supposed to say that he woke up with the need to see her? Or was he supposed to lie? He settled for half of the truth. "I needed to get my car this morning and I figured I'd drop by."

The frown still hadn't left her face, in fact, Finn was sure it had deepened.

"Just yesterday, hadn't I made it clear that I didn't want to know you?"

He should have known it wouldn't be this easy.

"Well, yes, you did but –"

"Then, why would you go out of your way to come see a girl who doesn't want to know you?"

Finn didn't even need to think of an answer it just came out. "Because I want to know you."

"I still don't get it," Rory said sounding frustrated. "I tell you exactly why I didn't want to know you yet here we are. Why?"

It was Finn's turn to frown. "What about last night?"

"You were drunk last night."

"You said you had changed your mind about me!"

Rory shook her head. "What I said was that it was nice to meet you."

"Same thing!" he insisted.

"No, it isn't! You were drunk and all I need was make sure you got home without needing to make a trip to the morgue."

He didn't say anything for a while. He just stared determinedly out at the water.

"Is that really all I am?" he whispered to her. "Just another rich kid with a trust fund? Someone who believes the rules don't apply to him because Daddy's money will get him out of trouble?"

"Aren't you?"

He looked up at her his green eyes meeting her blue ones. "I don't know." All he knew was that he didn't want to be.

-

A/N: So, its been a while, I know. I'm sorry! I could give you a thousand and one reasons but I'm sure you don't want to hear them. OK, so this chapter isn't exactly steaming with action but at least its an update!


	6. Chapter 5

Beaches, Booze, and Falling

Chapter Five

Rory's eyes were still trained on Finn's and he was faltering. He knew he wouldn't be able to hold her gaze much longer. Her blue orbs were staring into him: piercing and searching as though she was waiting for him to elaborate. He wasn't going to. He couldn't. He didn't know the answer she was looking for. Was he really just another rich kid with a trust fund grateful only to Daddy's bank account? He suddenly felt like the little boy caught fooling around in the back of the classroom while the teacher was speaking. He looked away as he felt a slight rise in his cheeks.

As he kept his gaze in the surfers riding the waves he contemplated Rory's implication. He knew he was a partier. He knew he drank too much and too often. He knew that the way he treated women was wrong. He also knew that he attended his classes and passed them. He wasn't top of the class or anywhere near it, but he was passing with decent grades. He wasn't all that bad. Was he?

She was still looking at him that he knew. He could see her out of the corner of his eye. He expression was no longer searching. It was now more concerned and almost quizzical as though, dare he say it, she wasn't sure what to think of him anymore.

He wasn't sure whether this new development was a good thing or whether it was a bad thing. He wanted to be a good person in her eyes. He wanted her to like him. But, on the other hand, did he really want to have to redeem himself to someone who had such a low and set opinion of everything he was. Who did she think she was? She didn't even know anything about him yet she already made her judgement on him and everyone else that had money. They were all the same to her.

No, he thought, she's not worth it.

He couldn't believe that he had spent all of yesterday thinking about her, wanting her to know him when he should have realized that she had stereotyped him and all rich people as the devil incarnate. They were everything that was wrong in the world. He had thought she was different. He was wrong.

In a daze, Finn stood and without brushing himself off of sand walked away. He heard her call after him but didn't stop. Even as he walked away a little voice in his head could help wondering if he was being too rash that maybe she was indeed different. And just maybe she was right about him.

Hours later Finn found himself sitting at O'Riley's Pub with his friends. He had first started coming here when he was thirteen with James. At that time it had just been for hamburgers and fries. As they got older O'Riley, the pub owner from Ireland, started allowing them a beer. Now, even after all the years Finn was AWOL from home this was still the place his friends came to drink and unwind.

The pub was dimly lit and the air was thick with cigarette smoke and the stench of alcohol. It was well past the hour that teenagers haunted the place and was now filled with college students from the nearby university who didn't go home for their break.

He was sitting at a table alone. His friends were around somewhere presumable dancing to the live band that was set up on a makeshift stage for entertainment. While his friends were off having fun Finn sat staring morosely at an unopened bottle of beer that was placed on a bar napkin in front of him. He had almost opened it several times, but could never bring himself to actually open the twist cap of the bottle.

Try as he might he couldn't get Rory's words out of his head. He knew on some levels she was right. She was. All he did was party, drink and have sex. And here he was at a place he usually partied at with a dink in front of him. He had never questioned his life and how he lived it before now. His way of life had worked so well over the years, but now he wasn't so sure. It was surreal. All it took for him to question everything in his life was for a girl not to like him.

His eyes flickered unconsciously to the door for the umpteenth time already that night. He looked almost hopefully at the glass door as though he was expecting someone to show up. She wasn't coming. He knew that. He hadn't spoken to her since he left her at the beach that morning.

"You okay, Finn?" Jarrah asked as he slid into the seat across from him blocking Finn's view of the door.

Finn nodded and went back to staring at the beer bottle.

Jarrah sighed. "You're sure?"

Finn stared as a bead of condensation ran down the side of the glass bottle.

"Come-on, let's shoot a game of pool," he said cocking his head to the side where the rest of his friends were waiting. "Come-on," Jarrah repeated as he made his way to the pool table.

"Yeah, alright," Finn mumbled as he followed.

When he got there Ryan handed him a cue. "Lets see if you've gotten any worse."

The corner of Finn mouth tugged upward and with a roll of his eyes he leaned over and made his first shot sending the balls all over the table as he broke the ice.

"You _have_ gotten better," Ryan commented dryly. "I think this is the first time you didn't scratch the table."

"You must have a lot of time to practice up at that American school you insist on attending," Jarrah added as he took his own shot. He pocketed a solid blue ball. He lined up his next shot and easily made the shot. He pocketed another ball.

"Almost as much as you," Finn shot back with a grin. Jarrah scowled.

He heard his brother laugh. James was holding a beer in one hand and his other was wrapped around Talia's waist as she surveyed the game. James however was looking at Finn much like Jarrah had been before—concerned.

"I'm fine," Finn said before James even asked.

"Dad's been on the phone all day. He's been calling universities here. He's serious this time, Finn."

Finn had already known that. His father had balled him and given him a choice of two school that would take him both of which were only a half hour from home, which is where his father told him he will be living.

"He's being ridiculous," was all Finn said.

"He's bringing you home, Finn. He's going to be on your case twenty-four hours a day. He's going to treat you like…"

"He's going to treat me like you."

The anger he had felt for his father the night before had slightly dissipated. He still didn't want to come home but he couldn't help but feel almost pleased at the prospect of his father paying attention to him. He couldn't remember that last time he had received this much attention from their father. It wasn't the type of attention he had always hoped to get from his father but it was attention none-the-less.

"He'll watch like a hawk, Finn."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I know you Finn, you love your freedom. If you move back home you'll have lost it all and you'll end up hating Dad even more than you already do," James said.

"I repeat, James, what can I do about it?"

"Stay in America."

Finn almost laughed out loud. "Just yesterday you were all mad at me for attending school in America. Now, you want me to stay there? I don't get you!"

"We wanted you to keep in touch," Talia said. "Not to forget us."

He knew that was true. He knew he should have kept in touch. He knew there were a lot of things he _should_ have done but didn't.

"How am I supposed to get Dad to let me stay Jay?" he asked his brother.

"Make him think you've changed," he said.

"Or if you want to get really crazy," Talia said in a hushed tone as though divulging a secret, "you can really change."

Change. A word he had never thought so much about before yesterday. It was also something he had never seen himself doing until now.

"Its your shot Finn," Jarrah said.

Turning to take his shot Finn couldn't help but laugh. There were two balls left on the table.

"You really do have too much time on your hands, you know that," he said as he leaned forward for his shot.

-

Finn sucked in a deep breath and wiped his sweaty hands on his pants. He was nervous. He couldn't believe he was going to do this. Rory was right. He was everything she thought he was. That was going to change though. He wasn't going to be that guy anymore. He didn't want to be. He was going to change.

He couldn't help but imagine the blue-eyed girl looking up at him with an expression of affection and a smile that lit up her entire face. He shook the thought away and tried hard to tell himself that it was not for her that he was doing this. It was for his freedom.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door in front of him.

"Come in," Darren Rothschild's voice called from within.

This is it, Finn thought as he turned the knob on the door.

-

The next morning he was at the beach again. He was looking for her, of course. When he did find her amongst the crowds he was surprised. Her head was not buried deep in a book, as it was the previous days. She was just sitting there staring out at the ocean much like he had done the day before.

"Rory," he said as he approached her.

She jumped up. "I'm so sorry! I had no right to say those things to you."

He shook his head. "You're right you didn't."

She looked down ashamed. "I've just never, I've never had a good experience with anyone from your world. Even ones that start off good usually end badly. I always end up feeling inadequate. I feel like that even when its not directed at me but someone like me. I'm sorry. You might not be like that. I shouldn't have made that generalization."

Whatever he had been expecting to hear from her it wasn't this. He had been expecting a brush off.

"I don't want to be like that anymore," he told her.

She looked up at him with a look that seemed to hold a touch of pride. "Okay," she said.

-

**A/N: I'm sorry it took so long for an update. I was on spring break all last week and everyday I tried to get something out, but my fingers and the keyboard refused to cooperate with me.**

**So this chapter did not go the way I wanted it. Actually, I didn't even write what I had planned. I started at point A on my way to point B but ended up at point D. The scene in the pub was supposed to be so much better. Originally I had planned for Rory to show up to tell Finn that she was wrong and that was supposed to make him want to change but as you can see that didn't happen. My dialogue sucks. It sounds so much better in my head then when I write it, it sounds like a twelve year old thought it up. It really doesn't help my self-esteem.**


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